The Anglo-Saxon Period, roughly 450 to 1066, began as Germanic-speaking peoples, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, migrated to and settled post-Roman Britain, gradually forming a patchwork of small kingdoms that consolidated over centuries into a unified Kingdom of England. The period saw the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity from the late sixth century, the flowering of Old English literature including the epic poem Beowulf, recurring war and eventual accommodation with Viking invaders that produced the Danelaw, and the eventual unification of England under the House of Wessex, most notably Alfred the Great and his successors. The period ended abruptly in 1066, when the Norman Conquest under William the Conqueror defeated the last Anglo-Saxon king, Harold Godwinson, at the Battle of Hastings and installed a new Norman ruling class.
Facts
Partially Attested
Start YearSource says the period is considered to have started by about 450, so the year is approximate. Geographic ScopeMuch of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland 1 FAQs
What part of Britain did the Anglo-Saxons actually settle?
Much of present-day England and south-eastern Scotland.
The Anglo-Saxons inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland during the Early Middle Ages. Their settlements grew out of the migration of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes into post-Roman Britain, and consolidated over centuries into the kingdoms that eventually unified as the Kingdom of England.
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Sources
1. Anglo-Saxons, Wikipedia
Introduction, start of period
The Anglo-Saxon period in Britain is considered to have started by about 450 and ended in 1066, with the Norman Conquest.
Introduction, end of period
The Anglo-Saxon period in Britain is considered to have started by about 450 and ended in 1066, with the Norman Conquest.
Introduction, geographic extent
inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages.
In Group: Eras Beginning from 450 to 750 CE, Article text
The Anglo-Saxon period in Britain is considered to have started by about 450 and ended in 1066, with the Norman Conquest.
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